Imagine
by Taisi
Summary: Written RP. Three young wolves join the pack, and end up completing the family.
1. A Call As Old As The World

**This is an RP between me 'n my two friends--my third friend wasn't there when we created it, so she's not in this one. :winces: Sorry Ria! Anywho, my character is Seiru, Ren's, bloodapparition, is Raid and Mimi's, BusRideToHellTicketPlease, I think, is Selece. The rest of the characters we don't own. Don't worry, the main wolf pack, Kiba, Hige, Toboe and Tsume...and Blue, I spose, the ones we've come to know and love, will be in this fic, too. Just some OC's.**

**And Mimi, maybe Ren, too, if you are unpleased with your character's clothing, you should've given me a more decent description! Too late now, anyway. **

**And no, I can't spell "bui" or whatever the heck those things that bob around in the water are.**

**And ONE MORE THING! Yes, this chapter is censored on the new arrivals, but I had to get a point across--near the end, when it's plain type, not _italics, _you get the general idea.**

**Now, ONTO THE FIC-STORY-TYPE-THING!**

_Chapter 1:_

_A Call As Old As The World_

-x-x-x-x-x-

_The collar's studs faced inward instead of outward; whenever she strained or pulled on the leash or collar, the collar would mechanically tighten, cutting into her soft, warm fur and flesh. She stopped her attempts at once, whimpering as the scent of fresh blood worked it's way to her nose, and the blood itself ran down her neck and onto her chest and collar. She stopped moving, trying not to lose herself to the pain, but her Person yanked on the chain that made her leashed, jerking her painfully forward, causing the spikes to stab into her again. With a strangled whine, she trotted up to stay beside the human's feet lest she feel that pain again._

_They were on a deck, leading out into the water, and there was a bui bobbing near by. The boy leading her said something to the people standing near, something that, if she didn't have pain shooting through her neck and down her body, Raid propably would've understood. _

_But then she was being tied to the bui, despite her protest, and left in the water, struggling to stay atop the water, fighting the currents and the underto, gasping as water entered her lungs through her gaping mouth and nose._

_As she thrashed about helplessly in the water, the bui began to drift around, dragging her with it; gasping and wishing to cry, she tried to keep up with it, seeing against her will her scarlet blood stain the water around her. She shut her eyes, struggling and panting, her feet found rock. She pulled herself on it, shivering and coughing, water and blood in her mouth. She woud've stayed perched on the mossy rock that protruded from the water, but the bui was circling around again, twisting the collar so not only did the spikes stab her, but they cut a deep circle around her neck. Crying in pain, the pup quickly plunged clumisly into the water, filling her senses with the dirty water once more._

_But the bui brought her round again to the rock, and Raid climbed onto it, weaker and weaker, trying to breathe, and then it dragged her off once more._

_After the third time of this, the wolf puppy collapsed on the rock, without the strength required to pull herself back up. Her black fur was matted and tangled around her, and she was trembling wuth the effort of every breath._

_That was when she caught sight of them, the four wolves walking over the bridge, chattering easily, contentedly with each other. The one in the lead was a pure white, the next was a light brown with a black collar, the third was a runt, a scrawny pup Raid's own age, with metal bracelets around one paw, and finally, trooping dutifully after the pup, was an ash-grey wolf with a bold white scar on his chest, cutting sadistically into his fur. And with them was a girl who's sent of Lunar Flowers_

_Raid watched them, unaware of the circling bui any longer, pain momentarily erased. They were so calm with one another; Raid could tell from looking that they were at complete trust and ease with each other, that they'd fight to the death for their pack._

_And Raid found comfort in simply thinking of them, thinking of their all-too-obvious friendship._

_Then the bui was pulling at her again, driving searing stakes of pain through her neck. Without thinking, she was straining forward, making the collar tighten and the spikes burrow deeper into her. She threw her nose to the sky and called to the pack that journied away from her, crying to them, asking them to take her with them, please!_

_Relief flooded her as they stopped, looking around for the source of the call. The little wolf, the one her age, caught sight of her first and yelled, "There! Look, there!"_

_And then the grey wolf was diving off the side of the bridge and swimming toward her with swift, strong strokes. The bui dragged her into the water again, and she, spluttering, caught off-guard, was hurled backward into the waves. Raid just ceased struggling, ready to give up, ready to die._

_The sound of crunching metal made her open her eyes. There...her collar was floating away from her, sinking to the bottom of the lake. She felt the sensation of water sweeping over her wounds, of washing through the matted fur that had lain under the collar. Then, before she could think anything else, she felt powerful teeth close around the scruff of her neck and she was pulled from the water; she obediently curled into a ball and hung from his muzzle as he swam to the shore and pulled himself, and her, of course, with him, out of the acursed waters. _

_He dropped her onto the ground, and shook himself off. His pack, now humans, who'd been there already, waiting for him, looked ultimately relieved. The pup took a tentative step forward. "Tsume--"_

_The grey wolf, Tsume, obviously, said, "She's fine, Toboe." Seeing the unsatisfied look on his face, he ammended, "So'm I."_

_Toboe still looked unconvinced, but muttered, "Okay."_

_The white wolf, currently a boy in jeans, a Tshirt and a green jacket stepped forward with the purple-haired, soft-red-eyed girl and said, "Do you know who she is, Tsume?"_

_"No."_

_"Kiba," the other wolf, who'd not spoken up yet and was crouched beside the girl as a boy wearing blue and black sweatpants and an orange and black sweatshirt. "She's got gouges around her neck, and she's exhausted. We can't just leave her."_

_"Alright, Hige," Kiba agreed quietly. "We'll wait with her here. She may not want to be dragged away with strangers. She might want to stay."_

_  
Toboe was incredulous. "After what whoever did to her? She can't want to stay!"_

_"She may, Toboe."_

_"I wonder what her name is," Hige pondered, looking out over the seemingly innocent lake._

Raid.

_Everyone gasped as the wolf spoke; then she turned into a little girl, a little younger then Toboe, with baggy black cargo pants that went all the way down to nearly cover her black shoes; those, and her black sweatshirt matched her eyes and hair. Her skin, however, was ivory, and cut with scars and gashes from recent and past perils. "My name," she said in her human voice, "is Raid."_

_Cheza smiled deeply at her, love for all wolf-kind shining in her eyes. "This one welcomes you, Raid. This one wishes you to stay with her and her friends."_

_  
Raid stood shakily, swaying, then gained her balance. She turned to stare out over the water, where the boy was walking back onto the dock; she watched as he looked at the bui, found the dog he'd imprisoned there missing, turned, and walked away without a second thought. Raid said nothing, then turned, shifting closer to the wolf who'd saved her, Tsume, and said at once, "I'll come. Where're you guys headed?"_

_They all answered at once, save the flower-girl:_

_"To Paradise."_

-x-x-x-x-x-

_She strained and tugged on the rope, trying desperately to free herself. The other dogs barked and yapped at her to knock it off, she'd just hurt herself, but she paid them no mind. She tried gnawing on the rope, only giving herself a jaw-ache, and wore herself out pawing at the hook it was tied to._

Knock it off, pup, _one of the older dogs yawned, as he and the others lay in their pens watching her struggles. _You'll never get free.

Don't ever say 'never' to a wolf! _she snapped back, turning her frustration into anger; after all this work she's been doing, trying to get herself free, all they do is sit and yap about how impossible it is! _I'll get off this rope and back to my People quicker then you can blink! _It wasn't that she planned to get back to her People--just to get off this friggin' rope!_

She's got spirit, _a younger dog muttered, almost admiringly. _And it's true, she's a wolf--you can smell that she's different. But, kid, _he turned to her, looking so disheartened she stopped her escape attempts long enough to listen to him, _you gotta understand--the boy tied you there, telling you to stay when he got into that car. He had a bag with him, and his two people had some in the car. They knew they were leaving--they left us here to die.

Times are hard, youngling, _the elder dog said softer, laying his muzzle on his front paws. _There's no way for us to survive.

_A howl echoed across the atmosphere, answered by three more. They were wolves, the puppy knew, and they were content. They sang to the earth about the sun and the moon, they sang away their troubles for only a few minutes, they sang in complete harmony with another. The puppy's senses tensed; she was hearing the pack-song; a call instinctive, primitive--a call as old as the world._

_Without thinking, she answered the call. She dipped her nose to the sky, calling to the clouds, crying to all her existence and misery. The dogs in the pen watched with admiration and awe the beautiful chorus that only wolves knew the words to; they watched as a human-raised wolf-pup answered the instinct inside and howled back to the glorious creatures that were her kind._

_The wolves didn't answer back at once; the puppy skipped from one paw to the other, whining anxiously, when the quiet, powerful sounds of the lopes of wolves as they ran toward her made her squeak with glee. In the lead, running dignantly over the snow, was a gorgeous white wolf, blue eyes peircing into her's, even from so far away; after him came a light brown wolf, wearing a black collar with the silver number 23 on it, ran after him, matching his pace evenly; next a grey wolf with a white scar on his chest loped with distinguished skill, and behind him raced a playfull scrawny brown wolf pup with metal bracelets on one paw--oddly enough they made no sound as he ran. Next to the pup was an even smaller wolf, a black wolf with silver scars all over, like the stripes of a Siberian tiger, who kept pace reasonably well._

_But with them ran a girl who smelled of Lunar Flowers, with light purple hair and soft red eyes. She smiled, a smile that warmed the girl-pup's heart, and stayed beside the white wolf._

_The wolves, and the girl, stopped in front of her as one, looking her over. _You're a wolf, _the white one said immidiently. _That much is clear.

But why are you here? _the young-wolf with metal rings on his paw asked curiously inching forward. The girl-pup realized she, he and the little black and silver wolf were the same age; she let him sniff her fur curiously, just behind the ears, and heard his confused whine when his snout met the coarse rope._Why're you tied here all alone?

You're people left you? _the grey wolf asked bluntly, watching her warily with shockingly emerald eyes, ignoring the sharp look the young-wolf sent him. _Left you here to die?

_Remembering the words of the eldest dog, whom was on his feet and cowering back with all dogs but the young dog, the girl-pup answered, _Yup.

The lighter brown wolf, with the slightly larger build and collar, said, _Well, that was sweet of them, _in a voice dripping with sarcasm.

_The girl-pup grinned at the sardonic remark and said, _I'm Selece. Who're you?

_The young wolf answered at once enthusiastically, _I'm Toboe! This is Kiba, Hige, Tsume and Raid! And that's Cheza. _He nodded to each as they were introduced, and the acknowledged the introduction with a nod of the head, and Cheza knelt beside Toboe and Selece and began to stroke Selece's cinnamin brown fur._

Toboe, _the white wolf said, voice gentled as he spoke to the one of the pack they all were protective over, _we can't stay, we've got to head on.

_Toboe nodded glumly, then brightened at once. _Can she come, too? _Selece looked at once eager, and both turned twin pleading glances to the older wolves._

_A quick glance between the three older wolves, and the quick silence that followed made Toboe yip in delight. _Great! _he exclaimed, knowing the answer before the gave it. _Thanks, guys! _Spinning to face Selece as the other wolves raced off, he told her to hurry up and get off the chain and follow them, then he too was gone, running after his almost-brothers and Raid and Cheza._

_It happened quite suddenly--the light cinnamin-brown wolf pup with the white-tipped tail on the end of the rope was suddenly a little human, a little girl. She wore light brown, almost white pants that hung around her legs like a skirt and stopped at her knees, dancing softly in the breeze, and a black no-sleeve sweatshirt, with a long-sleeve white shirt underneath it; one of the sleeves came down completely over her hand, with holes for her fingers to work unhindered; she had long brown hair with lighter-brown tips at the bottom; her bangs were swept to the side, hiding one of her dazzling blue eyes. _

_Selece stood up, unused to walking on this simulation's human feet. She untied the knot the was around her neck, and let it fall to the ground. Surveying the dogs who stared at her from behind the bars of her cages, she said, _"I told you--don't ever say never to me." _Then she turned and started to walk down the dirt road that led away from the house and into the wild country. She stopped after a few feet, turned, and raced back to the pens to unlock the doors. _"Go, run from here."

_They obliged, but the young dog stopped long enough to thank her. Then Selece turned into a wolf to race after her knew pack. She knew it'd take a while for them to gain her trust, but she was willing to wait--she knew she'd really like them, and she already really liked that flower girl, Cheza, and that white wolf, Kiba._

_When she'd caught up to the black and silver wolf who was loping easily beside Toboe and Tsume, she asked, "Where're you guys going? You look like you're all on a mission." She'd meant it as a joke but they answered it serenely._

_"We are."_

-x-x-x-x-x-

_The black wolf-pup, with one soft grey paw, dragged herself through the mounds of snow, watching her blood spill freely to stain the white powder. Seiru concentrated simply on putting one foot in front of the other, trying not to fall; if she fell, she wouldn't get up._

_Her mother was a wolf. Her father was a wolf with very little dog in him. Technically, Seiru herself was a full-wolf, but her mother had been banished from her pack for mating with an outsider, and her father had been killed by the pack. Her mother, carrying pups inside her, had been too weak to find food for herself and had only let herself die after she'd had her pups, Seiru one of them. They'd survived for a few weeks on her milk, but when they were big and ready for meat, they'd tried to wake their mother up one day, to find her dead. They, after much hesitation, fed themselves on her flesh, cleaning her to the bone; it was her wish to feed her children when she was gone. Hungry as she was, nothing would make Seiru eat her mother's flesh; she taught herself to hunt. She survived, but only barely. She got better, day by day, and she stalked whatever moved. Her siblings, who'd eaten only what had been provided, had none of her self-taught skill, and one by one, they all died, leaving Seiru alone._

_She'd not known what to do at first._

_But then she left. _

_She journeyed away from them, away from the spot, away, away, away._

_She learned that trust was rare--you can trust, but not just anyone. Some people were untrustworthy, that she knew, but when she foraged through the cities as a wolf-pup, she knew that some people were kind-hearted and would give food from their shopping baggages, and pet her and croon over her; others would throw things at her and shoo her away. She learned to read people, to understand what was happening behind their eyes, to sense their feelings, intentions. She also learned to think ahead, stay one step in front of her foe._

_And now she was alone; a wolf hunter had found her, shot at her three times, caught her with a bullet in the stomach, and she ran. She ran away from people, away from the hunter, knowing she didn't have a chance against him as weak as she was._

_And now she was nowhere--her senses were failing, her strength dieing. One of her feet caught in the snow and she could pick it back up; her arms felt like lead weights and her thoughts were just dragging her down..._

_When she hit the snow, she didn't know it--she was numb to the world. She didn't know there were six wolves headed straight for her. Didn't know she was in pain. Didn't know her blood was staining the ground and snow and earth and air..._

_She couldn't decipher the sounds that were echoing eerily above her head, couldn't make out the voices that sweeped around her in quick, abrupt, worried tones. She felt air rush around her as she was hoisted up to be cradled in someone's stong, gentle arms._

_She was deaf...she couldn't feel...couldn't think..._

_When she awoke, she was being carried in someone's arms as that person and several others, her nose told her, ran at an inhuman pace through the snow. She looked up into the face of a brown-tousle-haired teenage boy, who felt her shift in his hold and looked down at her. "Guys!" he called, stopped the steady, rythmic strides he'd fallen into that had calmed Seiru the minute she'd woken. "She's awake now."_

_Seiru found herself being stared at by five wolves other than the one that held her. She also realized she was in her human form--blue cargo pants that stopped just under her knees, a black shirt with a blue spiral on it and white running shoes; she had dark violet eyes, and soft grey hair that was cropped just under her ears--it splayed coolly over her ears and part-way over her eyes. Glancing back up at the boy who cradled her, she noticed her blood stained his shirt. Ashamed by the blush that lit her face on fire, she whispered, "I'm sorry."_

_He looked down, suprised, then grinned easily. "No problem, don't worry 'bout it--we've gotten used to wear-and-tear." _

_  
Seiru smiled hesitantly at him. "Who are you?"_

_"Hige." He said promptly. Turning round so she could see the others, he said, "That's Kiba, Toboe, Tsume, Cheza, Raid and Selece. Raid and Selece are the newest additions of the pack," he commented smoothly, as though it were natural she should know these things, "and Cheza's more of a precious gem than a pirate."_

_"I'm Seiru." Seiru was very concious of the eyes on her. Hige set her down, and she swayed, but commanded herself not to stumble. "Again, I'm sorry for causing you trouble. I'll go."_

_She turned and began to make her way back across the snow, with slow, jerking, halting steps, watching her wounds reopen and blood spill onto the ground. Shuddering she kept on, forcing herself not to look weak in the eyes of the other wolves._

_"Hey!" This was the younger boy, with metal bracelets around one wrist. He ran after her, turning to walk backwards so he could talk with her. "Where're you going? You can't even walk!"_

_Seiru glared at him, not entirely angry, but indignant. "I can walk fi--OOF!" _

_Picking herself up again, she found Toboe and Hige staring at her, plainly unconvinced. "Yeah," Hige said. "I bet you can." Without another word, he scooped her back up, throwing her over a shoulder, saying, "You're welcome to stay with us."_

_Kiba, chuckling, hid his grin under his hand; Tsume, Raid still sticking close to him, rolled his eyes; Cheza smiled softly, reaching out to pat the weakly struggling Seiru's shoulder. "This one hopes you'll stay."_

_Seiru looked at her, pausing her thrashing, letting herself go limp in the older boy's hold. "Why? Why would you want me to stay?" She spat out the word "me" like it were poisonous._

_"Well," said the girl with the brown and white-tipped hair, "why wouldn't we?"_

_"Because..." Now that she thought about it, she really couldn't find a reason for they not to accept her. But it couldn't happen--she knew a lot about trust, to know that it was a very rare novelty, that she just wasn't good enough for. "...My mother trusted her pack. She was with them since she was a pup. But when she mated with an outsider, instead of the alpha male who'd wanted her, even though she loved this stranger wolf so much, and he her, they banished her; even her own mother. They killed the stranger, leaving Mama alone and helpless. When she had me and my brothers and sisters, she lived for a few more weaks, desperately trying to survive for us. Then, when she died, my siblings ate her body. I couldn't. So while I taught myself how to hunt, they gorged themselves on what lied in front of them. When her bones were clean, they, too, had no chance of survival._

_"I was left alone."_

_She almost didn't realize that Hige had set her down; her head was bowed, grey hair shadowing her face. _

_"Do I have a reason not to trust?"_

_"'Course you do," the boy, Toboe, said earnestly; his eyes were shining in sadness--not pity, but sadness; pity would hurt, and he knew it. "But you have no reason not to trust us."_

_  
"The runt," Tsume said quietly, "knows a thing or two about trust."_

_Now the boy, the leader, who'd been silent all this time, spoke up, sheilded blue orbs probing into hers. He said softly, quietly, serenely, "You've no reason to come with us. We're just another group to you, I suppose, just a few more wolves. But..." --here he paused, looking at his wolves with something Seiru recognized surprisedly as pride-- "...we're not."_

_"And what are you then?" It wasn't sarcasm, a language Seiru knew as well as normal English, but an honest question. _

_It was Hige who answered. He knelt beside Seiru with a gentle, almost sad smile on his face. "We're a Pack."_

_She suddenly recognized the emotion in his eyes; genuine trust--he really, truthfully trusted his pack, would trust them with his life. The way he said the word, the way it held dignity and strength in his voice, and the way the others seemed to vaguely look away from each other told Seiru everything she needed to know, all in one second. She stepped back a little, closer to Hige. _

_  
"Alright, you've convinced me."_

_Toboe cheered, and Selece mirrored his actions. Raid howled softly her pleasure, suddenly a wolf, sitting on her hind legs, pawing the air with her forepaws. When Hige stood, Seiru skipped closer to him, a hand grasping the hem of his sweatshirt and holding it tightly. He blinked, grinned, and started forward. Raid, a wolf, ran circles around Tsume, who said, quite calmly, "I'd appreciate and end to that." Toboe, on the other side of him, grinned. Selece ran up as her true, wolf-pup form and jumped lightly into Cheza's arms, after brushing with a younger-sibling affection against Kiba._

_Suddenly Seiru spoke up again, "I know where your going."_

_She wasn't sure who it was answered--it sounded like all at the same time. "You do?"_

_"Yup. Paradise, right?"_

_Present Day:_

_Darcia's Damage to the Pack_

Tsume was the first to reach Toboe's and Quent's lifeless bodies. His eyes widened and he dropped to his knees, feeling for all the world as if the moon had just fell from the sky. "Stupid kid," he growled through clenched teeth, head bowed, face shadowed. He wasn't surprised to find himself shaking--_I...was supposed to protect him..._Beside him, Raid had finally caught up, panting. She took in Toboe's lifeless body, lieing in his own blood, and fell to the ground against Tsume. "Toboe..." she whispered, voice hoarse. She couldn't make herself move--she'd never paid much mind to the young wolf, but she'd never expected...never thought...he'd _die; _she always expected to have him a part of her day, always wake up to find the ever-cheerful Toboe. She'd never considered he'd _die..._

Seconds, seconds later, Hige, Seiru and Blue were there, staring at the two on the ground. Blue yelled, "Pops! No!" But Hige never thought to look at the old man. His eyes were trained solely on the young wolf that had grown to mean for all the world like a little brother to him. He took a few steps forward, then stopped, as if it were physically as well as mentally painful for him to see the little wolf dead--and no doubt it probably was. Next to him, apart from Blue, who'd dropped to her knees beside Quent, Seiru stared and stared at Toboe. "Toboe...?" She was suddenly kneeling next to him, shaking him gingerly, tenderly touching his fur as though he were made of precious gem that would shatter and fall away at the slightest pressure. "Toboe...No...Please...come back...?" Tears were running down her cheeks but she didn't know it.

It wasn't a minute later that Cheza, Kiba and Selece were there. Kiba's mask of melancholy dropped away at once, and his blue eyes widened. "Toboe..." Cheza's eyes softened in dispair, and Selece jumped from her normal seat in her arms to turn human and join Seiru at his side. "Toboe...Wake up...?"

Seiru looked up at the sky, as though pondering whether she could grab his soul and drag it back. "Why'd you go?" she murmured, gazing at her friend. "Why?" The tears were rushing harder now, and her small frame was racked with sobs; when Hige knelt beside her, she cried openly, but softly and nearly soundlessly, as a force of habit, into his shirt. He gathered her in his arms and stood, face impassive--it looked like he had lost one of the most precious things to him--and indeed he had; he'd lost a Pack-brother.

The call went up quite suddenly; wolves singing to the bloodred sky above their mournful passionate song, crying to the world the unjust of this wolf's death, calling out to all creation their sorrow.

Cheza's wordless, haunting, beautiful, sorrowful melody blended with the wolves' howls and echoed as they died.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Tsume stared unwillingly at the sight before him--Blue was dead, eyes wide open, blood lying in a puddle around her--he quickly shifted his attention to his pack-brother: Hige was sitting up against the rock wall, a hand still lying on the side of Blue's face, crimson staining the yellow and black of his shirt. He had an oddly tranquil look on his face, and his throat had been torn out. On his lap lay a blood-soaked, almost dead Seiru. Tsume rushed over at once, Raid on his heels.

"Kiba...went after Darcia..."

"Don't try to talk!"

"Please...Tsume...I need you to do me a favor...I want you...to do it with you're own fangs..."

Tsume's eyes widened; he'd never thought he'd liked this wolf as much as he did: the thought of actually, truthfully killing him appalled him, even though he threatened it enough.

"Am I still...a traitor to you...?"

"That doesn't matter anymore!" Tsume bowed his head, shaking, ashamed that he was near-crying. He knew why; it was too much to lose two of his pack-brothers at once--nevermind he and Hige had never really gotten along; looking back now, he realized that they, along with Kiba and Toboe had made a great team. _Toboe... _Is this what people mean when they say that death makes everything so much clearer? Or, You never know what you had until it's gone?

"P-please...I'm in pain here..."

_Yes, that's it...the mercy stroke..._

Tsume closed his jaws around Hige's neck, reluctantly, unwilling to have the taste of his pack's blood in his mouth.

"Let's meet again...next time...in Paradise..."

Tsume, eyes wide, shut them tight before chomping his jaws shut. When he took them away, Seiru looked up at him emotionlessly, then closed her eyes--in that minute, he knew she'd been waiting for Hige to die, so she could die with him. She was gone, too.

Raid howled loudly, piteously up to the sky, mourning the death of her close friend. Tsume looked at her, watching her dip her muzzle repeatedly to the sky in the never-ceasing cry that the wolves will always sing.

Then he was up and running, hearing Raid break off reluctantly in her song, and then follow earnestly, unwilling to be left behind by her closest companion.

-x-x-x-x-x-

When Tsume yelled after Kiba to run, and saw, with some confusion, the reluctance and hesitation in his eyes, it made him furious. "GO!" He'd yelled, startled to see Kiba flinch back, then nod and run off.

Now he looked down at himself, startled to see all the blood, his blood, pouring off him. He smiled, though, and whispered, "Raid?"

The little wolf was there, bloodied and beaten herself, her reward for fighting for and along side Tsume, and it tore at Tsume's heart to see that, almost as much as it had to see Toboe laying lifeless there...He pulled the pup onto his lap, stroking her soft fur, and then stopped immidiently. He looked down at her, missing the steady beat of her heart and the rythmic draw of her lungs--she was gone.

He leaned back, eyes almost shut, with a sad smile on his face, then turned to watch Kiba run. "Let's meet again...next time...in Paradise..."

As Kiba ran away from Tsume, as he heard a sharp, final howl, his eyes widened--his original pack was gone now. The last one had fought to the finish for Paradise, and Paradise had won him over. Now Kiba clenched his teeth, tears burning in his eyes, and leapt into the dark abyss after Darcia and Cheza and the last wolf of his Pack, Selece.

-x-x-x-x-x-

When he'd seen Cheza there, green blood all over, something inside him snapped; he'd fought, ferociously, for her, but couldn't win. When he was down, and was awaiting Darcia's killing, a sudden flash of brown shot past him and towards Darcia.

He couldn't let it happen--Selece was the last wolf he had. "Selece, no!"

If she heard him, she paid no mind; she leapt at the momentarily stunned Darcia, snapping her jaws closed around the back of his neck. He yowled and circled, trying to through her off to no avail. Cheza, weakened beyond enduranced looked up and managed a soft, choked gasp. "...Selece...No...this one--"

A sudden, heartwrenching wail filled the atmosphere--Darcia had twisted suddenly, arching his neck back to grab Selece's small frame and crush it in his jaws. He then proceeded to shake her violently, then toss her to the side, where she hit the ground with a sickening thud, and slid--she came to a stop near Cheza. Kiba watched, horrified, as she dragged herself over to the flower-girl, to let her life go out in her arms. Cheza cradled the empty body, tears streaming down her cheeks that broke Kiba's heart.

He watched, completely helpless as Darcia started for the gates of Paradise, weak from the poison Cheza had announced was in her blood, only to be burnt to a crisp by a sudden, violent wave of unearthly element.

-x-x-x-x-x-

After Cheza had died, it was all over.

After he'd died, he knew it was.

He didn't know if they'd ever meet again...But he knew...he had to find his Pack again. When the world was recreated...when everyone was reborn...He'd find them...

_I have to..._

**This is _NOT_** ** a one-shot! NOTNOTNOT! There will be more! Please, please, please review! And be open-minded! I'm sorry this chappie was like the way it was--I had to introduce the new characters the right way, y'know? No flamers, please?**

**Okini!**

**BaiBai 4now!**

**-distant6**


	2. Houyou sono Hisakata: Embrace the Moon

**Thanks for the reviews, guys:beams: I love reviews! They make me feel so much better 'bout my story! **

**Disclaimer: The only character she owns in this would be Seiru. Selece and Raid are owned by her friends, Ren and Mimi. Their pennames are bloodapparition and BusRideToHellTicketPlease. **

**Aku:admiringly: That was a mouthful.**

_Chapter 2:_

_Houyou sono Hisakata_

_(Embrace the Moon)_

Kiba broke into a run, feeling the wind rush through his hair and whistle through his flapping jacket. His feet made hardly a sound as he sprinted down the sidewalk, ducking past people, dodging cars as he crossed busy streets as his every instinct trained toward the one place in Jump City where his mind screamed for him to reach.

Something told him...that's where his problems would be solved.

-x-x-x-x-x-

_When she awoke, she had no clue where she was or why she was shaking so hard. At first, she couldn't remember her name. She was quivering and whimpering, curled tightly into a ball, her fur damp and matted. She felt empty, lost, alone. She missed the feeling of a body pressed beside her, missed the warmth of the fur that wasn't her own, the steady heartbeat that thudded rythmically beside her was gone. _

_She was alone._

_At first, she couldn't figure out why this shocked her; she'd been alone before, hadn't she? Ever since she was a pup, she'd survived solo...But now...something wasn't right about this solitude...Someone...Three someones were missing..._

_Selece and Raid! Her eyes widened and tears sprang from their restraints. How could she have forgotten her two closest friends? But...they weren't the only ones who'd been wrenched from her...there was another..._

_Hige._

_The name struck her sharply, like a physical blow. She reeled back, tears streaming unhindered down her cheeks. She ran her gray paw over her muzzle and tried to het a hold of herself. Hige was more than a friend...he was an ally...a protector...a brother...The first one who accepted her, who shared her thoughts, mirrored her actions as though they were meant to be nothing more then siblings in this huge world. Her foster-brother...and her foster-sisters...were gone..._

_She was alone..._

_...for the first time..._

_...Her Pack...was gone..._

_She tried to get her bearings as she glanced about. She was in an alley...in the middle of an alley...lying behind a cardboard box..._

_Jump City!_

_Of course! The name screamed at her, and she answered it's call--she leapt to her feet, shakily, unsteadily, but ran out of the alley, disguising herself in her little girl human form and she stood up, trying to call on her strength._

_...I-I'm coming! Just wait for me...!_

-x-x-x-x-x-

_At first, she hadn't thought anything was different. _

_She was alone. As usual. No trivia there. But, something felt odd in the back of her mind--like something longed for and treasured was gone. She shook it away, unwilling to feel such feelings after such a great night's sleep. _

_And it had been great. When she'd woken, it was like she'd opened her eyes to a whole new life. It was actually scary how it seemed like that. _

_But then it all came flooding back. The pack! Her pack! Kiba, and Hige, and Toboe, and...and Tsume. Tsume's name still held firm as the dearest to her in her heart. But there were others...Selece!...And Seiru, as well!_

_How could she have forgotten them, even for a moment?_

_She sat curled in a miserable ball, whimpering and shaking. It wasn't right, her being alone. She had no one. Not even an abusive human. She was completely solitary. At one time, she'd've thought she liked it. Not now. Not after she knew what she missed._

_She needed them now. _

_It wasn't a 'want' thing anymore. _

_She needed her pack with her._

-x-x-x-x-x-

_At first, she hadn't cared. She was alone--same 'ol, same 'ol. Her humans had deserted her, she'd reminded herself, and left her for dead with the other dogs. It didn't matter! She could survive well enough on her own. The elder dogs always said that she'd be the one to make it! She was a wolf, after all._

_Wolf..._

_The word had new meaning to her._

_Once, she thought that it was just a word, a title she gave herself, a sound she threw to the wind when she said it._

_But now...She treated it with respect._

_She held her head high when she called herself a wolf, and showed all what a wolf is. She was an example. Not a window-setup. She was not a dog. She was a wolf. _

_And she respected that now._

_So, of course, when she woke up alone, it'd meant nothing._

_But then the wind began to whistle through the trees, a hollow, eerie sound that made her fur bristle all over her. Shivering, she tried to cast away the sound that howled around her--_

_--and began remembering._

_She remembered a heartbeat next to hers as she slept, and the firm reassurance that was the white wolf. _

_She remembered the exhileration of running with the pack, legs pumping and churning the dirt and snow, tongue lolling out in contentment as she seemingly soared with the other wolves._

_She remembered being taught to hunt, and the foolish mistakes she'd made--and how always the pack would provide for her what she couldn't get herself._

_  
She remembered gazing at the full moon with her two best friends, two runty outcasts like herself, or lying with the flower maiden, or tussling with the white wolf, the one who'd come to be as much as a brother to her._

_And...she remembered the song of the pack, the call, the song. They'd howl to the moon and the skies and the stars, singing to the earth their joy, announcing their freedom to the heavens. It had swept her up, the first time she'd sang with them, and she understood it like a language. The hunt song, rejoice song, mourn song, lone-wolf song...and the pack song. Each had a different melody, yet each sang to her heart the same way._

-x-x-x-x-x-

When they entered Jump City, they did so at the same time, although they had no way to know it. They followed the scent of Lunar Flower, hoping against all logic that maybe it could lead them to their pack. So they took to the streets, immidiently questing for the ones who'd come to mean so much to each of them...

-x-x-x-x-x-

It took a while for them to realize it--but they were running. They could _feel _the others' prescence, could hear their pulse, feel their breath. They knew--and they strove.

They pushed themselves beyond the limits, stepping over any restraints. Seven abnoramaly beautiful "humans" raced for one another, each with a long, drawn-out wish,as they followed their instincts to where their senses _screamed._

They ran down roads, ducked around humans, avoided traffic, and finally turned into the same road.

There, a beautiful white flower slowly unfolded itself, still dotted with clinging raindrops.

But none of the wolves could look at it.

They stared at each other.

No one dared to breath.

Even passing humans stopped and held their breath.

Then--

"Guys!"

Ever-trusting Toboe ran forward first, eyes brimming with impossibly happy tears. He latched onto Tsume, burrying his face in his shirt, shaking with happy sobs. Tsume was soon attacked by a beaming Raid, and he dutifully let them cling, golden eyes soft. Selece ran for Kiba, skidding slightly on the rocks, and grabbed onto him, shaking and whimpering, as though afraid he'd dissapear if she didn't hold on tight enough. He knelt to her level and hugged her tightly as she tried to hide the tears that had begun to flow. Seiru ran at Hige, and threw herself into his open arms, making no effort to hide her happy tears. He scooped her up and hugged her so tightly it made her squeak.

After a while, Hige went over to clap Kiba on the shoulder, grinning widely, then to playfully jostle Tsume and ruffle Toboe's hair. "Hey, runt," he said softly. "Long time no see, eh?" Toboe spared him a smile, before he hugged him.

"Good to see you're well, Porky," Tsume said, sounding melancholy, but the delight at seeing his pack again was all too clear in his eyes.

The three girl-pups moved aside, letting the boys have the reunion to themselves for awhile, while they had their own. "Selece, Raid, I was so scared I wouldn't see you again!" Seiru said hugging them both around the shoulders.

"Can't get rid of us that easy," Raid growled, voice hoarse from neglected use as she returned the one-armed hug.

"I'm so happy we're all together again!" Selece sighed contentedly, slinging an arm around Raid's shoulder, so that the friends formed a chain-line of sorts. "Hey, let's go bug the boys into getting us something!"

Raid and Seiru stared exasperatedly at her. "What more could you want?" moaned Seiru.

Selece's answer was to beam and drag them back to where the boys were now waiting. After getting a hug each from Toboe, and returning the gesticulation, they turned bright eyes to their respected "guardian". Hige let Seiru clamber up onto his back, Tsume let Raid push under his arm until it was around her shoulders, and Selece slipped a hand into Kiba's.

They were together again...but Selece frowned suddenly. Where was the flower maiden?

**Okay, second chappie! I'm sorry it took five years and a half! I had a lotta work! Anywho, here it was, I hoped you liked it! I'll try to update again soon! Review, please!**


	3. Iji: Memories

**Okay, okay, it took forever, I know, and I'm sorry! Between keeping my grades up, taking care of my little brother, and trying to keep up with all my other fics, it's hard to update regularly! But I really am trying...Here's the next chappie.**

_Chapter 3:_

_Memories _

Selece stretched, a huge smile of contentment on her face. She, Toboe, Raid and Seiru were lazing about in the park, resting after their desperate race to be rejoined once more, and reclining easily in the grass. The older boys had gone out to scout--and to find food. "It's so great to be back together again, isn't it?" she asked smoothly, falling back onto the soft nest she'd made of leaves and grass.

Toboe grinned, looking up at the sky. "Uh-huh. Sure is."

Raid growled and rolled over. Seiru sat up, looking like she had something to say that had been bugging her for a while. "Guys...back at the mountain...I was so afraid..."

The atmosphere turned from content to desolate. Toboe sat up as well. He met each of his friends' gazes, then let his own fall. "I...When I jumped to save that old man...It...it was...something inside me that told me to...I really wasn't thinking...I just...listened."

Selece whispered, "When Darcia attacked Cheza, I was with her...she was holding me really tight in her arms...I couldn't stand her being hurt, but I waited...I waited till the perfect time, then fought for her and for Kiba...I couldn't protect them, though. That's when I died."

"When Tsume fought, I did," Raid muttered shortly. "There was no thinking to it."

Seiru rubbed her arms, as though chilled. "W-when Darcia attacked Blue...I was so scared...I got all hollow inside...But when he attacked Hige...I couldn't think at all, I just snapped...I could only think _'fight!' _I...got hurt pretty bad...But I didn't let myself go until he did."

They lay in their memories, in the comfort of their friendly companionship, and pondered their fate. "I just _know _we'll make it this time," Selece murmured suddenly, and her three friends knew what she was talking about at once.

"Yeah," Seiru smiled up at the skies, basking in the glory of the thought. "Where we can all run together..."

"...plenty to hunt, and room to run..." Raid added softly, looking uncommonly dreamy.

"...and Lunar Flowers always in bloom." Toboe finished with a wistful grin. Then the smile was gone. "D'you think Tsume and Hige will want to go?"

Horrified, the girls glanced at each other. ..._Would they? _

oooOOOOOOooo

Kiba, Hige and Tsume led the way back to the park where they'd left the younger of their pack. All three were laden with food, and Hige was already beginning to drool over it, and had proclaimed--with that infamous, idiotic grin--that anyone wanting some would have to fight him for it. They paused at the end of the treeline, listening to the pups' conversation; they saw them all look uncomfortable, and caught the last bit of Seiru's words: _"...I didn't let myself go until he did." _They all stopped, their cheerfullness forgotten; the young wolves had been talking about their deaths, a subject the three olders of the pack didn't like to pursue.

Now the pups were talking about Paradise, and how sure they were the pack would make it this time. Then: _"D'you think Tsume and Hige will want to go?"_

The three stiffened.

Nothing was said between them; they couldn't find the words, not even Kiba, who specialized in eloquent, simple heartfelt speeches. They strained to hear the pups' voices again.

"_Well...I..." _This was Selece and she sounded apprhensive; this was easy to see, because her usually unmatched vocabulary was hard-pressed to form a simple sentence. "_I...I, I'm sure...Oh, I don't know!"_

_"Um...I..." _Raid: she could find nothing to say, so said nothing at all; her pride wouldn't allow her to stoop so low as to make a fool of herself.

_"...Then the pack would be split up." _Seiru's usually clear voice, suprisingly clouded, whispered softly. _"I mean, we know that, don't we? Toboe and Raid would go with Tsume. Selece would follow Kiba to Paradise, cuz we all know he's gonna look for it again. ...And I would follow Hige." _She stopped, then continued, _"It breaks my heart to think of us leaving each other, after just finding one another again, but we know that's what would happen; if either Hige or Tsume decided to hang back, some of us would lose the others. It's also disheartening--" _this was a word Selece taught her a long, long time ago, adding to the other girl's rapidly widening word-span "_that I wouldn't be able to continue my own search for Paradise, alongside you...But I'd follow Hige..."_

_"I know! I...I'd hate to lose any of you now...But Kiba's like a brother to me, I can't let him go off on his own...And I _need _him, too, I'm just a pup...Not to mention...we'll be finding Cheza on the way to...I feel so guilty, just _thinking _of going to Paradise without any of you!"_

There was a strangled pause, and then a flurry of activity--a quick glance showed the four pups were hugging each other tightly. Raid murmured, _"I might just cry if the time comes for us to seperate. I'd deny it later, of course, but...We're a family--family's aren't supposed to be ripped apart."_

Seiru's voice was thick with pain when she whispered, _"I know."_

That seemed to be too much for Hige. He spun to face Kiba, dropping his food, something that startled his companions beyond anything else that day, and growled feircly, "I'm going--I was going to go anyway."

Kiba blinked, and smiled lightly, sincerely. "Thank you, Hige."

Hige was taken aback, but he recovered quickly with a wide grin. Tsume shoved him from behind, muttering, "Great, now we'll have to listen to you bicker all the way back to Paradise, won't we?"

Kiba and Hige smiled knowingly at each other, and Hige bent to recover his abused food. Then they strode into the clearing where the pups sat apart from one another now--one of them must've heard their approach, for they were all grinning eagerly, showing no signs of their apparent distress from before. "Oooh, hotdogs!" Selece cried, leaping up and skuttling over to Kiba.

Seiru was on her feet as well, tugging on Hige's arms. "Hige got hamburgers!"

Raid inspected Tsume's load and growled her approval, already opening packages and sniffing their contents. Toboe took some of his burden and sat down with it, opening a bag of chips and sighing contentedly. "Nachos!"

Hige had torn into his second burger, when a voice from behind him made him choke: "Hungry, are we Hige?"

He spun around, and Seiru leapt to her feet. "Blue!"

The wolf was in human form, in the black-suitcoat and thigh-high black boots, hair unruly as ever; her blue eyes sparkled, and her smile trembled as they landed on Hige and Seiru. Hige stood and and she was in his arms at once. Raid muttered something about getting a room, and Selece kicked her gently. Seiru waited back while the two wolves' affectionately murmured greetings to each other, and Kiba smiled softly. Tsume rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to his food, but Toboe could see he was just as happy--well, at least a little happy--to see the black wolf again.

Then Seiru threw her arms around Blue, more happy for Hige's sake than her own. Blue patted the girl's hair softly, smiling gently at her, and then put another arm around Toboe, who was at her side a second later. After that, everything fell into place--Selece dancing around Blue, Kiba standing and telling them to get ready, for they would leave at dawn, all the pack cheering at the executive decision, and then the pups settling down to sleep next to their favored guardian; you could just _see _the _joy glowing_ from Tsume, with a pup on either side of him. Hige patted Seiru as the young wolf nestled closer in her sleep. Kiba smiled slightly at Selece who was curled into a tight ball at his side.

The four older wolves grinned at each other over the heads of their sleeping comrades. Together again, and rearing for an adventure.

oooOOOOOOooo

They stretched.

"Lezzgo!" Selece yelled, literally bouncing around the others. "Lezzgo, lezzgo! C'_mon _you said at dawn!! Well, it's dawn! Let's go!"

Seiru, yawning, only rolled over onto her back so her paws were in the air. Toboe sat up and rubbed his eyes wearily. Raid growled at Selece for being so cheerfull in the morning and promptly went back to sleep. Hige shifted, making Seiru lift her head and stare balefully at him. "Hey, don't stare at me like that," he groaned, stretching. "Kiba set the hours."

"I _like _the hours! It's time to go, go, go!" Selece cried.

"Putta cork in it," Raid snarled lightly, putting her hands over her ears. "Why are you so damn--"

"Raiiiid..." Seiru glared at her reproachfully, and the others had to wonder how she could look so indignant when she was half-asleep. "You're not old enough for that language." Selece stuck her tongue out at Raid from behind Seiru's back, but Seiru murmured, "And knock that off, Sele."

"How does she _do _that?" Selece whined to Toboe, who was grinning sleepily.

"I dunno," was his answer as he shook out his pelt. "But I'm feeling a lot more awake now."

Blue stood and shook herself. Hige stood next, Seiru fast asleep again on his back. Tsume rose to his feet, too, and Raid, standing with a glare at the sun for rising so early, and Toboe, who was already cheerfully bouncy, flocked to him. Selece skipped to her place by Kiba, and Hige took his place at his friend, the white wolf's side. Blue smiled at him from his other side, then at the slumbering Seiru. "Not a morning person, is she?"

"Well, she usually is," he replied.

"When she's sleeping in a nice place, she always stays up late, cuz she can't sleep," Selece explained promptly. "That's why Raid isn't up-and-about yet as well."

"Shut it, brownie," Raid growled.

"Make me!"

"I'd love to!"

"Just try it!"

"You asked for it!"

And then they were rolling around on the ground, tussling and gnawing on each other's ears and paws. Tsume put his hand on his forehead. "Simpletons," he muttered, looking like he was on the death march.

"Hey!" Raid howled, looking hurt. "I am not a simpleton!"

"Yes, you are," Selece growled, locking another hold in Raid's fur. "Simply a simpleton!"

"Like you can talk!"

Seiru slipped down from Hige's back, looking ruffled and drowsy. "With all that racket," she muttered quietly, "they might as well be a pack themselves."

Hige grinned at her. "Aww, couldn't sleep anymore?"

"No." Then without warning, she turned wolf and raced over to where the other girls were wrestling and dove on top of them, proclaiming, "You're both idiots!"

Kiba looked to the road, then to the sky. "We'd better get going. Storm soon."

"Right," Tsume growled. "Raid, Toboe, let's go." Raid disentangled herself from the mock-fight and joined Toboe beside Tsume, and Selece scampered back to Kiba, while Seiru stood back beside Hige, looking wide awake once more.

As they were starting out, however, on the outskirts of the city, they were met with another hindrance.

"Wait!"

Spinning around, the pack were faced with the two humans that had traveled to the gates of Paradise with them; Cher and Hubb.

"Perfeeeeect," Raid growled under her breath. "Just what we need. Baggage."

**Okay, suckish ending, but it'll get better! Please review.**


	4. Asari tameni hana: Search for the Flower

**Hoo-RAY!! I love this story, it's just so much fun!! It's fun writing it and portraying ideas and thoughts of my own into my character, and my friends' into their's. :beaming: Whoo-dee-doo-dee-doo...:skuttles off:**

**Disclaimer: Izzi's in a really bad mood cuz some idiots are taking their anime off the internet. First FMA and now YYH. So she's trying to hurry and get through the Naruto show so she'll see it all before they take it off; "they"? FUNimation.**

_Chapter 4:_

_Asari tameni hana_

_(Search for the flower)_

"Good-bye!" Selece called back one more time to the humans waving from the city's limits. "See you!" Snow was falling hard--not hard enough to be miserable, but to be fun--it was snow that was packed in and fun to stomp through, as the pups soon learned, but not everyone was happy about it.

Raid glared at her and said, "No, you won't. We're going to Paradise--we're leaving all this behind."

"I _know _that," she said, affronted. "But it's a nice gesture to say "see you". I'll bet they know they'll probably never see us again, but they were cool about it."

Seiru muttered incoherently, and Selece whirled on her. "What did you say?"

"I said, _who needs humans!" _With a glare that was more hurt than angry she stomped up to where Hige was traveling with Blue, rather than walk with her pack-siblings. Kiba told her not to yell at the others, and she only glared at him, when normally she would have quailed. Hige looked down at her, suprised, and realized her ailment.

"Is it the snow?" Ever since her siblings and mother died, Seiru had hated the snow--the snow that had been coated crimson with her mother's, father's, sisters', and brothers' blood.

"Bite me."

Everyone stopped to stare at the little girl, who'd never so much as _playfully _raised her voice to him. Hige, however, smirked, and scooped her up. "Yeah. It's the snow."

Raid, too, was more snarl-ly than usual as well; she kept falling through the snow. She was so small, she would fall completely below the snow-line and out of sight. Tsume, finally fed up, grabbed her by the scruff of the neck--she immidiently curled into a ball in midair at the pull of her delicate neck fur--and set her on his shoulders. She collapsed, exhausted, and fell asleep. Tsume rolled his eyes, and Toboe stiffled a giggle. Then, he and Selece proceeded to play tag.

While they walked, the snow stopped falling and a new City was looming into view. Seiru grumbling to herself from Hige's shoulders, suddenly realized something. She shreiked and toppled forward, bringing Hige down with her. He yelped, especially when Seiru began trying to suffocate him. "What-are-you-doing?" he choked.

"Get off this damn collar!" she snarled. Hige blinked, and gently pushed her off. He felt his neck where the collar was. He still had it on. The pack stopped all together, and stared back at where the wolf sat. Seiru sat beside him, amethyst eyes trained on his.

"Hige. _Now. _We're heading into the Last City." Raid said, standing beside Seiru. Her eyes never wavered, nor did she blink. "There's no going around. The officials will get suspicious."

Last City--Jagara's Keep. The place that marked the beginning of the end...

Hige's eyes widened, pupils shrinking. Toboe knelt beside him, reaching for the collar. "It's okay, Hige," he said in the most reassuring tone he had. "We're with you this time." When Hige stared at him, he grinned wide. "Promise!" He unlatched the collar, folding it into a tight square, and then threw it as far away as possible.

oooOOOOOOooo

Raid sat on Tsume's chest that evening, taking in the starry night sky. Snout to the dark evening clouds, she sniffed lightly, taking in every scent on the wind. Content that no danger was around, and content also that her pack was sleeping soundly, the little pup jumped lightly off her unofficial guardian and curled into a tight ball beside him, burrowing into his warmth.

Toboe was curled inbetween Tsume and Hige, breathing deeply, sleeping easily and pleasently; in his dreams, he ran through Paradise, pack-brothers and -sisters at his side.

Seiru lay silently, eyes open and breathing slow as she took in the stars. So many...She reached up, as though to touch one, but her fingers met thin air. So close, and yet so far...

Selece lay awake as well, curled against Kiba's cozy white fur, eyes half-shut as she slowly lost herself to sleep. When she closed her eyes, she, too, dreamed of Paradise.

And miles and miles away, on a lone hill covered in snow, a single white flower rose from the ground, spreading it's petals to the moon.

oooOOOOOOooo

They had everything planned out. Go in, leave. Spend no time in that Hell-hole of a City, and get as far away from Jagara and her Keep as was humanly possible.

Surprisingly, not everything was to go as planned, but how were our favorite wolves to know that?

They got in simply by acting like all the other poor people, although they didn't have to run long in the acting feild; the four pups were wheezing a little, the whole pack's clothes were torn and dirtied, and they looked like they hadn't eaten for days, which was truth. The full moon was two days away, so...

Finally, Hige gave in his fear to hunger."I'd do _anything _for some _food," _he muttered, watching people buying things on the market. They'd all agreed not to steal anything, lest the authorities see them and find them to be wolves.

The three girl pups were in a whispered, heated conversation. Seiru was shaking her head furiously, plainly saying _No No No!! _And Selece was pleading with her while Raid just watched, muttering something in Seiru's defence every now and then. Finally, Selece gestured at the hungry boys and Blue, and Seiru was silent, then hung her head in defeat. Selece danced forward, beaming happily at her pack. "We could earn some money!!"

Tsume and Kiba traded looks, Blue looked dubious, and Hige blinked. "How so?" Kiba asked with a smile at the younger wolves.

"We'll _show _you." Selece beamed, dragging Seiru and Raid to the center of the market; Raid borrowed some pots and wooden spoons from an amused young woman--who was dazzled by the inhuman beauty of the ones she didn't know to be wolves, and the adorable-ness of the little girls and the boy--and Raid set them up like a drum set, sitting tailor-style in the midst of them. She took the spoons and held them at the ready. Seiru's face was set, eyes dark, and she stared at Selece, who was debating what song to sing. Then she brightened and waved her arms frantically as she squealed excitedly.

"Gather 'round, gather 'round!" Raid called, looking--big shock here--happily content amidst the pots as she clanked on a particularly big one rather loudly. "Big show comin' right up!!"

Seiru groaned but turned away and smacked herself for beind a wimp and stationed herself beside Selece, grinning broadly. "Whoo!" Selece cheered, smiling at everyone. "You ready for the greatest street performance _ever?"_

"What are they _doing?" _Tsume hissed to Kiba.

"It looks like they're going to perform," the white wolf replied. "And it looks like they've done it before."

"One, two, three, four!"

Seiru sang softly, her solo in the beginning of the song. The pack was utterly and completely surprised; her voice was _beautiful. _

Raid started jamming on the makeshift drums, and both Selece and Seiru sang, bouncing lightly, fake plastered smiles growing into wider sincere ones. Soon they were dancing lightly around each other, voices harmonizing perfectly, like the howls of a wolf on the evening of a full moon. Soon a large crowd was gathered, throwing coins at their feet.

oooOOOOOOooo

Hige cradled the sleeping Seiru, Tsume the sleeping Toboe--with the sleeping Raid coiled around his neck--and Kiba held the sleeping Selece. The girls had worn themselves out singing and then chasing around Toboe, who got worn out running from them. They'd all conked out in the middle of the market, and their each respective guardian stepped forward to pick up his pup, or, in Tsume's case, pups. ((You could just _feel _the elation _radiating _off him.)) The pack was able to buy food, and a place to stay in a nice inn--for the pups; they decided it did the younglings no good to be out in the cold open element if there was a chance to stay warm and dry.

That night, as the Kiba and Hige pushed the two huge beds together in the room into one gignormous thing, and all eight wolves curled up together on it, they fell asleep to the hidden moon's soft song.

**FINALLY AN UPDATE!!! WHAAA!! I know it's, like, the shortest chapter ever, but I had to get that over with; once I can kick my brain into starting, I can write longer chappies. T.T Sorry!! Please review!!**


	5. Koigokoro oyobi Chuusei:Love and Loyalty

**Everyone go to "Youtube" and type in "FMA Protege Moi". It is _THE _coolest thing ever. And the song is the coolest too. And for any of you who haven't seen FMA...You have serious problems, and you need to go to Myspace and watch the episodes at once. PS--If you type in episode 15, wait for it to load, then go to the very very end, it'll come up with a list of other FMA episodes, starting with Episode 1. There's a long list, but when you finally can't find the episode you're on, just type it in the search bar, and click "Search Videos".**

**  
Okay this is gunna be a dramatic, sentimental chapter. Because I said so, and here anything I say goes!! I AM GOD! OBEY ME OR I WILL TURN YOUR GRASS GREENER!!**

**Sorry, Mimi-quote...she played Sims.**

**BTW--This is what chapter three should've been titled:**

_**Chapter 3:**_

_**Iji**_

_**(Memories)**_

**Thought I'd clear that up.**

_Chapter 4:_

_Koigokoro oyobi Chuusei_

_(Love and Loyalty)_

The next three full moons were clouded over, giving off no moonlight to bask in.

They finally left the Lost City the next day. They weren't prepared for the harsh winter that set in almost immidiently after leaving the City's dome. The winds nearly overpowered them, shoving them back three steps for their every one. The snow swirled furiously, flurries of crystal flakes blowing into their face; and the temperature dropped, making it so cold, the beads of cold sweat on their faces froze there.

The pups were worse off.

They could hardly move, much less walk, in the harsh element; the snow and ice coated them, melting and then freezing over. When night fell, and temperatures fell even lower, the pups were literally dead on their feet.

"C-Come on, guys," Selece said through clenched and chattering teeth.

"W-we'll m-m-make it," Seiru murmured softly over the roar of the wind.

"Of c-course we will..." Toboe agreed; the little wolves were pressed so close against each other, the didn't need to shout to hear themselves over the never-ceasing, ever-present storm.

Kiba paused, and looked out over his pack. Hige had fell silent long ago, and was now stumbling on, pressed against Blue, who was panting and quivering; Tsume was staggering, face set in a grim, determined expression. The white wolf saw at once that is was time for them to stop. He looked around for a safe place to stay, out of the winter's harsh grasp. None such pleasentries. He stumbled back to Tsume, who was still struggling through the snow, and called over the roar of noise, "I'm going to look for a place for us to stay! Take over until I get back!"

Tsume looked up and nodded his consent; Kiba struggled to lope off, dangerously alone and vulnerable alone, dissapearing into the snow like a curtain had been dropped between him and his pack, of ice and snow.

About a half hour later, he came back, panting. "There's...a cave up ahead..." he managed to get out. "We can stop there for a while."

Hige smiled weakly, only a shadow of his once sarcastic, easy-going self; Tsume was silent, only waiting for the next command. Blue just shuddered, murmuring, "Y-Yeah..." in a voice that was deathly quiet. Kiba struggled back through the snow, gathering Toboe in his jaws by the scruff of the neck, then threw him over his back. Then the wolves snapped out of their revere; Blue picked Selece up in her jaws the way a mother cat would her kitten. Tsume did the same with Raid, Hige with Seiru. The little wolves were nearly frozen stiff, and they only barely curled up like they did when held by the scruff of their neck.

Then Kiba jerked his head forward, and loped that way, sprinting against the furious winds and snow. The pack exhaled, inhaled, then ran after him, carefully keeping a grip on their precious burdens.

About fifteen minutes later, Kiba led them into a blissfully warm, dry, secluded cave. It wasn't very big, there was just enough space for the pack to stretch out, plus a little elbow room. At once, they lay their pups down and pressed together, conserving body heat and resting sore and aching muscles.

Days passed.

The storm died down after a few days, and by that time the older wolves were rested well enough; they couldn't say the same for the younger wolves.

_Three Days Later..._

They the pups were stunned; not shocked or surprised, but literally stunned. They couldn't really move around, couldn't think. They were just there, vegetables lying about with no real purpose. The snow had stopped days ago, but that didn't erase the damage already done. For too long had the little ones been out in the harshest cold they'd ever known, unprepared, and not at full health. The older wolves worried constantly, their thoughts of Paradise and Cheza almost--if not completely--gone from their minds. They ran out into the barren land to hunt for food, usually returning with little or no food. The most they got in one trip was two rabbits, and that food immidiently went to the pups.

The pups, had they been in their right minds, would've noticed the steady decline in vigor and enthusiasm in their respective guardians. Tsume was surly, nor abrupt; he was quiet and--somewhat--obedient. Blue just layed in the corner of their little alcove, hardly lifting her head unless it was her turn to hunt or guard the younglings. Hige lost all sarcasm, humor--everything that made him...well, Hige. Even Kiba was different. He lacked the determination, the "confidence" that usually shrowded his every movement. They were all shells of who they used to be.

And the pups didn't notice. Selece didn't notice Kiba's changes; Raid and Toboe didn't notice Tsume's; Seiru didn't notice Hige's, or Blue's.

All they could do was wait for food, eat it, and then wait to die.

Same rotation for the older wolves; just take out the "eat" part, and mix in sentry duty.

They forgot; they forgot about their life goal, their dream...each other.

And that's when the rival pack showed up.

There was eight or nine wolves there, all healthy and strong. They were seeking a place to rest before they went on, even though they had no real destination, just cruising around, expanding their territory, and beating the heck out of every wolf they meet on the way. And, coincedently, that's when they came upon five young wolves, and four young pups, all lying--for dead--in the only small cave around that would serve as the perfect rest stop.

The stranger pack stopped and surveyed the weakened wolves; this new pack was in no way fair. This pack was here, and, sick or not, would be beaten to bits until they had total control of the domain.

The leader, a proud, black-drizzled gray wolf, stepped forward, head raised so he could peer down at them with cold superiority. "Hey, you," he snarled, stalking up to the dark dray wolf, the one he assumed to be alpha. "Get up. _Face me."_

Tsume's eyes opened when he heard the unfamiliar voice; emerald eyes cleared at once, sensing danger and challenge, and he rose--he almost couldn't--unsteadily to his feet. "Who are you," he snapped, trying his hardest to , no patience in his voice. The rival pack could see he was torn between arousing the white wolf and staying in front of the other wolves of the pack. "And what the _hell _do you want?!"

"Don. And I want you to get out of this cave," Don said with an evil sneer. _"Now. _Or you'll be swallowing your teeth." Suddenly, a shift of motion caught Don's eye. He glanced back to the very rear wall of the cave. Four balls of fur lay there, motionless but for a faint breathing. Tsume cursed, and Don chuckled humorlessly. "Oh, I see..._Puppies."_

That was it--Tsume feinted forward, lips curled back to show pearly white fangs, and Don bought it--he jumped back. Taking advantage of his uncertainty, Tsume jerked over to where Kiba was, panting already from that once-simple motion, and bit him sharply on the tender skin of his ear. Kiba leapt up at once. It kind of impressed Don's pack that he subdued even the slightest whimper--they could tell he wouldn't make a sound until he was aware of the situation, and that that was instinct.

Kiba's eyes, drowsy and clouded, cleared immidiently just as Tsume's had, and he joined Tsume at his side; he managed to keep a limp out of his stride, throwing a fake air of healthy confidence over the screaming of his mind and body. At once, Tsume said, "Rival pack--they want the cave."

Kiba nodded, and murmured, "Can you hold them here while I wake up Blue and Hige?" A quick nod served as an affirmative.

Kiba moved backwards warily; then as Tsume moved into the center of the mouth of the cave, he turned--completely trusting--and aroused Hige and Blue, with nips and whispers. They woke up at once, Hige a little befuddled, and the three of them joined Tsume.

Don snorted. "You plan on fighting us? Just the four of you? In the state you're in?"

Kiba's and Tsume's eyes darted over to Hige and Blue; Hige--sensibly, even though he'd just woken--had hid his pain, was standing strong--he looked confused, but he'd follow Kiba's lead--while Blue was hunched over, panting in an attempt to keep her dazed mind steady. Tsume cursed and Kiba sighed.

"Normally, we'd like nothing more than to give you our cave--" The rival pack noticed with amusement some skepticism on his friends' faces at the white wolf's words. "--but we simply can't allow that at this moment. My apologies, I assure you."

Don snarled. "That isn't funny!"

"You're healthy enough," Hige yawned, looking like he'd be ready to lay down and fall asleep. "Go find some other welps to beat out of their 'hood."

One of the rival wolves chuckled, but cut off at once at the glare Don sent his way. Don turned back to these three bold wolves. "Which one of you is _alpha?" _His eyes were on Tsume, but he blinked when both Hige and Tsume looked to Kiba, who stepped forward. "..._You?"_

Kiba only stared at him, brilliant blue eyes flashing.

Don's pack muttered, eyes on Kiba, who stood impassively; Tsume and Hige did the same, Hige after telling Blue to go down and stay by the pups. Don hid his surprise, and snapped, "Why don't you demand _obedience and reverence _from your pack, white wolf, if you really are the leader."

Kiba stared at him, with cold superiority. "Because they are not my slaves. And because they're more than just my friends."

"What is _that _supposed to mean?!"

"It means, dimwit--" Hige drawled, crossing his arms, "--that we--the eight of us--are a _family." _The silence that ensued was defeaning. And then Don started laughing.

oooOOOOOOooo

Toboe: _Where...am I?...What's...going on? I...can't move...I...Wait, what's that sound?...Crying...someone's crying?...No, it's not _crying..._It's more like...pain...Someone's in _pain. _Why are they hurting...what's _happening? _Am...I asleep? Why...can't I move?...I...My stomach hurts, I...I can't think...What's...Tsume...Where's Tsume? Tsume's not here...he's not beside me..._

Raid: _Dammit...ohh, it hurts...But the other girls will _never _know...If Toboe's behind this, I swear I'll...But Toboe would never hurt anyone. Jeez--I can't breath, it hurts so bad...And I'm so cold...be...because Tsume's gone! Where's..._

Seiru: _H-Hige...I-I can't breath...Hige, Raid, Selece, Toboe...Kiba, Tsume, _help..._My lungs...my arms, my legs...my heart, they all _hurt..._Make the hurt stop...P-please...wh-why am I hurting so much? M-Make it s-stop!! Hige...Hige, please...! Make it go away..._

Selece: _I-I can't move...w-why can't I-I m-move...? And my throat...is all blistered...Owowowow...c-can't y-you...K-Kiba...h-help me...U-usually...y-you'd...be here..helping me, making the pain go away...Why...What are those sounds?...Tearing...clawing..._

Simaltaneously: _Why are you fighting?_

oooOOOOOOooo

As strong as they were, Kiba, Tsume, Hige, and Blue all fell under the nine wolves of Don's pack. It was hardly fair. But Don didn't care about what was fair. He cared about _winning, _and doing anything it cost to win.

"Paradise Pack" was beaten to a pulp, and they could only lay there, bleeding and in horrendous agony, and wait for another attack.

First Blue, then--very reluctantly--Hige, and then--more reluctant still--Tsume gave up; their legs were shot. They literally _could not stand; _they could only watch.Kiba, however, dragged himself to his feet, unwilling to go down.

Another blow, and he was down as well.

Don's pack were guiltily shifting their weight from foot to foot; it didn't please them to follow through with his orders, but Don was _alpha. _To disregard orders from him would be mutiny. And they needed him to survive.

Kiba watched Don approach, knowing he'd more than likely die in a few moments. _I'm sorry...Cheza...Tsume, Hige...Blue...and all the pups..._

All Four: _I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough._

But as Don lunged for the final strike, he was met with resistence; a scrawny light-brown pup with white paws--Selece--had grabbed his hind leg and was gnawing on it ferociously: his attack swerved and would have hit Hige, but a black pup with a single gray paw--Seiru--dove in front of the older wolf and took the serious blow for him. She winced when it cut into her face, but stood firm.

"Stay," she snarled through clenched teeth.

"Away," Selece hissed, diving to her friend's side.

"From our," Toboe continued, standing by Selece.

"_Family," _Raid completed, standing on Seiru's other side.

All: _"Or we'll kick your ass!!"_

oooOOOOOOooo

Okay. They wouldn't have won.

In fact, the poor pups were reduced to a bloody pulp.

But Don's pack held him back before he killed them, and they all left.

The four pups curled into a ball with the other wolves--faith in one another heightened and strengthed to measures impossible--a ball of pain, misery...and pride; they _defended _themselves, and their older "siblings". They could fight for them. They were really pack.

Winter melted away into spring.

And the moon came out once more.

**Okay, next chappie: **

**Summed up in one word--CHEZA!!  
**

**Yes, she is BACK!! WHOOT!!...Sorry, I just HAD to write this...REVIEWS?!**


	6. Epilouge: Tendou

**Sorry for not updating for a while, guys. TT-TT I've been super-busy with my other fics, and with school. It seems teachers are coming up with new ways to avert one's social life/hobbies into moderated actions indorsing education. :sigh: And we the students are helpless to do anything about it without getting ourselves into trouble--by this I mean pranks, mischeif, etc.**

**Anywho, back to why you people are reading this!! WHOO! Chapter six is UP!**

**Aku: I guess this has sentimental values to her, seeing as her penname is "distant_6_".**

**And no flames, please!! Flames are Roy's (from an anime called FMA that I do not own) to use against the fangirls of doom and destruction!!**

_Chapter 6:_

_Tendou_

_(Way of Heaven; Destiny; Paradise) _

Kiba led the way. The wolves ran as they had in the very beginning, full of almost unrighteous energy, and felt full to bursting with power; like they could accomplish just about anything, just because they were together and strong, and under the silken blanket of a full moon.

The pups felt their legs pumping as their paws churned the snow, feeling howls of love and longing build in their chest; they couldn't supress them even if they wanted to. So they, even as they ran, threw back their snouts and sang to the sky. They sang of triumph and fear, of worry and relief. Their song was filled with empathy, ecstasy, encouragement, wild freedom and the will to survive.

They had _proven _themselves. They were pack; they could fight, they could protect their brothers and sister just as their brothers and sister protected them. They needed nothing other than the earth beneath them, the moon above them, and the song within them--they were wild, and they were _free._

They remembered a few days before: when they were seperated from the older wolves, and found by an old Catholic woman, and, for the most horrific night of their lives, visited an orphanage.

-_x-_

_"I coulda swore I just seen 'em!" Toboe said through gritted teeth, one eye squeezed shut as he struggled to keep his balance; he held the feet that gouged into his shoulders carefully, trying not to curse._

_On top of him, Raid snarled, "I told you we'd lose 'em if we stopped to look at the kitten, Sele!"_

_The girl on top of Raid cried defensively, "Don't blame it on me! You wanted that corndog didn't you?"_

_Raid tried to hit her, and Selence made to kick her back. Seiru, on the very top of the perilous tower, yelled, "You people are gonna kill me! Knock it off, I can't see with you squirming down there!"_

_"Well, hurry up!" Toboe cried pleadingly. "You guys are more heavy than you look!"_

_Seiru gripped the slick roofside with trembling fingers and hoisted herself off Selence's shoulders; pulling herself up with sure arms. Sitting on the edge, she surveyed the city. "Ummm...I don't see them..._Anywhere..._"_

_"Well, hurry up and get back down then!"_

_"Okay." Seiru swung her legs over the side of the building, turned around, and tried to lower herself; but the roof was slick with the falling rain, and her grip wasn't the best._

_So, naturally--she fell. She didn't hit the ground; her brother and sisters cushoined her fall. _

_"OW! DAMMIT!" Raid clawed her way out from under Seiru and Selece, yanking Toboe out too. "Clumsy much?!"_

_"Shaddup," Seiru muttered, getting up and offering a hand to Selece, who took it with a growl. Selece stumbled to a stand, brushing herself off brusquely._

_"Excuse me, children?"_

_Instinct took the place of logic; as a reflex, the four young wolves spun to face the enemy, back-to-back, so they made a circle of four, facing outward. Toboe, the one who was looking in the right direction, relaxed; trusting him, the others relaxed as well and peered around to see who'd beckoned them._

_An elderly woman was standing there, in the nun getup. Behind her, stood a very large crowd of curious, and concerned by-standers, who'd seen the pups' attempts at "subetly scaling a roof". They knew what they must look like; faces flushed, covered in scratches and bruises, clothes hanging off them because they'd recently been starved..._

_"We look like orphans," Selece growled under her breath so only her siblings could hear. The slightest flicker of emotion in their eyes was all the acknowledgement she needed to understand they'd heard her._

_"Do you kids need a place to stay?" she'd asked kindly._

_"No," Raid said at once, more blunt than rude. Selece slapped her._

_"What we mean is," Toboe said hastily, trying to make up for his sisters' lack of curteosy, "we're looking for our brothers."_

_The woman's eyes widened. "How many siblings do you have?"_

_"There's Hige, and Tsume, and Kiba, and Blue," Toboe counted them off his fingers, "and us. I'm Toboe, that's Raid, Selece, and Seiru."_

_"There's eight of you?" Her eyes were round. "Do you have parents?"_

_The four answered in unison. "Nope."_

_"A place to stay?"_

_"We travel around a lot."_

_"When did you eat last?"_

_"About...a month ago?" Selece mused without thinking. She then slapped a hand over her mouth, scalded. Raid groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. Seiru scuffed her foot roughly, the universal, "Aw, dang!" gesture, and Toboe smiled weakly. "I-I mean...a week ag--" Raid slapped her. "--A day! A day ago!"_

_The most unconvincing lie ever spoken has now been documented._

_The woman drew herself up briskly. "Then you four will have to come with me."_

_They panicked. "No!" But it was Toboe who saw logic first. "Guys," he said quietly, hardly moving his lips. "We're making a scene--we should just go with her."_

_-x-_

_They sat rigidly, staring at the grandfather clock as it ticked. The woman had offered them food, water, warm beds, which they all refused._

_They waited._

_There was a knock on the foyer door. The woman excused herself with another concerned glance at them, and she opened the door. _

_Five royally ticked-off teens stood there, eyes smoldering. The boys' eyes scoured the room behind the woman quickly, and, upon spotting their pups, they shoved into the room._

_With a cry, Raid and Toboe were clinging to Tsume--who looked, as you can imagine, thrilled--Selece had a death grip on Kiba, and Seiru was being hugged by Hige. Cheza patted them all, calming them, while Blue, after distributing her own affections, turned to the nun who'd taken the into the orphanage._

_"Why are our pups here?" she asked sharply._

_"Pups...?"_

_"Our kids. Why are they here?"_

_"They said you were their siblings...that they had no parents...That they hadn't eaten--"_

_"I'm sorry!" Selece squealed, pressing behind Kiba. "It was an accident! She asked!"_

_"We are as good as their parents," Kiba said quietly, standing. Selece kept her arms wrapped firmly about his legs, eyes watery. Tsume let Raid cling to his arm as he touseled Toboe's hair with his free hand. Hige hoisted Seiru onto his shoulders, and she rested her chin on his head, arms dangling._

_The woman watched them, regretfully, but also indignantly. "They said you traveled a lot. It's important for a child to have a designated--"_

_"We're traveling towards Paradise," Raid growled softly. "Towards home."_

_-x-_

To Paradise. _Towards home._

Home. None of them had ever had a real home. They made their home with the pack. Selece and Raid had lived amongst humans, who'd brutally, cruelly left them to die. Seiru had been abandoned as a young pup, had to teach herself to live. Hige was brainwashed, had his memory swiped, and then hurled into the world to find his way. Tsume had betrayed his pack, was marked for that, and then left a broken, untrusting wolf. Kiba had watched his home, and his pack, burn, and carried the knowledge that he was the only survivor. Blue was a half-wolf who's human trained to hunt down wolves--until she switched sides.

Somehow, by some bizzare twist of fate, these eight souls found a way to meet. Some way, their paths crossed, intercepted, and then merged. During some point, they formed a bond, and irreplaceable wholeness that was broken when one went away.

That is the true meaning of "pack".

_Two Years Later..._

The Gates swung open wide.

Their gazes rested hungrily upon it, into it.

They took a few hesitant steps forward, then stopped.

The eight wolves glanced at each other.

_We've come this far..._

_...and we've finally made it._

Smiling at one another, Seiru gripping Blue's and Hige's hands, Selece Hige's and Kiba's, Kiba Selece's and Cheza's, Cheza's Kiba's and Tsume's, and Tsume holding her's, and Raid's, who held onto his and Toboe's. (Wow that was difficult.)

They stepped into the golden light that engulfed them.

The gates swung closed.

**All done!! I'm so sorry the last chapter was so bad!! I'm glad you read thus far, and I hope you enjoyed it/\./\ **

**Izzi-chan, signing out! It's been fun, guys! Really.**


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